In medical applications or in electron microscopy (TEM, SEM), relocating objects smaller than a millimeter in size must be done within a confined medium. To perform such relocations, microrobots made of smart materials have been designed. These microrobots allow moving an object for a distance proportional to the value or duration of a stimulus. The stimuli are, for example, formed by applying an electrical or magnetic field, applying a voltage, or varying the temperature.
The operation of these microrobots is often complex and non-linear, meaning that the movement of smart material is not linear with the applied stimulus. In addition, the operation of these microrobots is sometimes not stable, as environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity have an influence. The microrobots are generally controlled in a closed loop. Such closed-loop control requires the integration of small sensors and the use of costly and bulky signal processing tools. Encapsulation and integration of these sensors is also difficult.
To overcome these difficulties, bistable drive modules have been developed called “bistable modules.” These bistable modules each include a drive pin able to move into two stable positions. To increase the workspace for such bistable modules to a number of positions greater than two, the bistable modules have been stacked atop one another.
Such stacking is not sturdy, however, and there is a high risk of it collapsing. In addition, stacking only allows moving objects along a line.
The aim of the present invention is to overcome these disadvantages and to propose a microrobot providing a workspace in two dimensions.